>> a report on military sexual assault. senators john mccain and as a grim talk about the obama administration's response to the benghazi this libyan attacks and later the house hearing on the humanitarian crisis in the central african republic. >> on the next washington journal the head of the center for politics of the university of virginia talks about

political tv ads. he wrote a recent article in political about the more than two and a half billion dollars expected to be spent on ads this year. we will talk about the effectiveness of sanctions as a foreign policy tool. so jennifer de pauley with civic enterprises take your questions about u.s. high-school regelation rates. washington journal is live on c-span every day at 7:00 a.m. eastern peaking join the conversation at facebook and twitter. >> almost 5,000 students and did this year's c-span student can video competition on the most important issue congress should consider in 2014. we talked to the top five winners about the documentary's. >> the mullen where we decided that this was going to be a

topic was an article in a local newspaper, the press telegram about how fracking was happening to miles from our house said. it's a national problem. and so we're passionate about the subject. >> food is essential to life, transcends everything. everyone requires it to live. i figured the fact that all of people don't know, what is being done of food supply and just eat this food and regularly without knowing what is excited, found that very consuming. there is somewhat more that you don't know, and it is hard for the average person to know exactly what is going down because they don't know what is going on. at that it depends, to you dougie your security over your privacy or privacy of your security? >> hear more from the top student can winners saturday morning at 10:00 a.m. eastern on c-span.

>> and the pentagon report has found that reports of sexual assault in the military rose 50% between 2012 and 2013. defense secretary jack hegel discussed the report at a news briefing joined by officials from the defense department's sexual assault prevention and response office. this is 45 minutes. >> good afternoon. happy me date. last week, as many of you know, i saw when i was over there and interesting wall with post-it notes on it. and so i went over to the wall and looked at what those post-it

notes said. what they were were that recorded individuals who had used the on line. what they had said, they call back or ended their conversation with the people in on one of this. and it was pretty penetrating, pretty significant, i thought, because those notes were in the words of the people, victims, who had used the system. and there was, among many sobering quotes, one in particular i want to "back to you that really struck me, and it was very simple and brief. it right, thank you. all you did tonight was saved my life. that is pretty powerful.

none of this business is not all that dramatic, but when you think about what was behind at message and what that victim said but more importantly what she meant was pretty powerful. i think we should keep in mind as we think about this issue and now we continue to go forward and address says sexual assault everywhere, the depth of this great crime that is perpetrated against their fellow citizens, and i want to address here this afternoon very briefly the report that we are issuing today which pro in most of you have seen. and no one has been out in the media.

generals know will come behind me and kind of go through some of the more specific parts of that report that we are issuing. a sexual assault is a clear threat to the lives and the well-being of the men and women who serve our country in uniform it destroys the bonds of trust and confidence that lie at the heart of the armed forces. over the past year i have issued 22 separate directives to strengthen al department of defense prevents in response to sexual assault in the military, how we support the victims of this despicable crime, how we educate and train our people, and how we hold both offenders and ourselves accountable. and also recently directed standardizing how we screen those in positions of trust throughout the course. these are important steps that we need to take, but we must do

more. today i issued six new directives that will build on what we have already done including a department one review of institutional of policies which will be revised where necessary to address risks that alcohol poses to others including risks that alcohol is used as a weapon against victims and predatory waste. they also require new methods to better encourage male victims to report results and seek assistance. with estimates that men provide more than half of the victims, we have to fight the cultural stigmas that discourage reporting and be clear that sexual assault does not occur because the victim is weak but rather because of an offender disregards our values and low. input from male victims will be critical in developing these methods and results will be closely monitored so that we can make them more effective. the best way to combat this

crime is to prevent it. we're issuing a substantially revised sexual assault preventive strategy. many directors focused on the strengthening prevention, the prevention strategy has not been updated since it was first drafted here in 2008 and will now be updated every two years. the updated strategy reflects the initiatives and director of the past year and was put together in consultation with experts from the cdc, fbi, law enforcement, and other organizations as well as colleges and universities. by collaborating with people and institutions that also deal with this problem every day we learned a lot about how to develop the most effective evidence-based methods to prevent sexual assault. now we will put them in practice we are also releasing the 2013 annual report on sexual assault and the military which

underscores we along with a go for week close to solving this problem. we believe victim's the -- victims are growing more confident. we took steps to increase reporting which is overseeing. last year we had a 50% increase in sexual assault reports which is unprecedented. nilsson had 492 service members, nearly four times more than ever before, come forward to report assaults that have occurred before they entered the military which meant that we real ticket in the care and support that they need. however, we also believe these crimes are still under reported. we must keep up the pressure and intensify our efforts to improve victim confidence in our system as we work to prevent sexual assault. the 2013 report also shows that commanders or it will to take

stronger disciplinary action against alleged perpetrators and were doing so much more frequently than in the past. disciplinary actions in cases with the military had jurisdiction reached a high of 73 present. when commanders took disciplinary action on sexual assault offenses been moved to court-martial a record 71 percent of the alleged perpetrators. these results indicated that our investments in training and investigators and attorneys are continuing to make a difference in our ability to all offenders accountable. as i noted, major-general snow will provide more detail about both the strategy i am announcing today and the report cycle, but let me close by saying that every single person in the military command every single person must take personal responsibility for helping stop sexual violence. that includes both sexual assaults and sexual harassment. everyone of us was sold ourselves and each other

accountable at every level of command. we must hold ourselves accountable for moving into our values, meeting standards, and making sure that everyone whether in the military or not is treated with dignity and respect to be to the victims and survivors of sexual assault in the military know that the department of defense leaders and pyrolysis into you and will do everything that we can to support you. so with our commander in chief to recommendations announced on tuesday by the white house task force to protect students from sexual assault underscores the president's strong commitment to putting an end to this violence or recurs. if you want to wear the uniform of the united states military just understanding our core values is not enough. we must live all, live and been forced as values and to it every day.

we must each be responsible for our own actions but also step up and take action and we see something happening that undermines our values and that's one of our own at risk. the victims and not only human beings but fellow soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines. we cannot let them down. thank you very much. >> general, thank you. >> good afternoon. our mission is to reduce with the goal of eliminating sexual assault for the united states armed forces. as you just heard from the secretary to the rereleasing the annual report on sexual assaults involving military members required by congress. reorganize the report record to the five lines of an effort in the strategic plan approved last

year, prevention, investigation, accountability, advocacy, and effectiveness as the -- assistance and assessment. in addition to giving it topline results from fiscal year 13 we are also giving you more detail on the part and a defense sexual assault prevention strategy and the initiatives directed by the secretary. in the report we have detailed the policy and program enhancements xbox made in air for 13 to prevent and respond to the crime. in the interest of, would like to highlight three. a created a special victim's council program which offers legal consultation and representation to victims of sexual assault brought to justice process. one and 1805 attorneys are not directly supporting victims across the on forces. another reform, we put in place new methods of assessing the performance of military commanders and unlisted leaders in establishing dignity and

respect. in the last example we filled in a special victim capability to a program designed to improve collaboration between specially trained investigators, collaboration return prosecutors and legal personal response to allegations of sexual assault, child abuse, and domestic violence. his credibility hampers our ability to read the fine evidence, support victims, and all the vendors appropriately accountable. numerous additional pro ramp and policy enhancements are detailed in the report. our topline results are measured in the traces of victims who had made a courageous choice to report. as you just heard from the secretary, they're doing so in unprecedented numbers. i would like to remind everybody that sexual assault is in on reported crimes. as such, the department took steps to increase reporting because each report allows us to provide care to a victim in an

opportunity to hold an offender appropriately accountable. this year's 50% increase indicates to us that victims have greater confidence in the smores system. while we see indications that efforts of the last year-and-a-half for having an impact it does not mean that we are satisfied with our progress. we will continue to encourage greater reporting by improving our prevention measures. the department takes action in every case where it has jurisdiction ifs insufficient evidence to do so. this year commanders have sufficient evidence to take disciplinary actions against 73 percent of alleged offenders up of from 66% from the prior year. this chart shows the historical trends of our sexual assault reporting. it is important to note that each report consists of a least one military subject or one military victim. the crimes involved a range of

sexual assault offenses and uniform code of military justice from abusive sexual contact to, as you can see on the chart, reports and have increased 5% on the year since 2006. this year's overall increase was an unprecedented 50 percent. and an apartment there are two ways to report a sexual assault, an unrestricted report which is referred for investigation by independent criminal investigators and their restricted report which remains confidential. as in prior years about 75 percent of our reports are restricted reports and 25 percent are restricted. this has stayed somewhat stable since 2006. the fiscal year 13 just over half of the matters investigated by military criminal investigators involved in initial allegation of been treading offense such as rape or forcible sodomy.

the remaining allegations involve non penetrating a finches. the proportions of the types of crimes alleged have stayed somewhat stable over time. the top of the crimes were abusive sexual contact, sexual assault, and reid. the assessment of increased confidence is supported by the additional lecture that shows an increase in victor reports of incidents occurring prior to military -- prior to joining the military. san% reports made this year were four incidents of sexual assault that occurred prior to military service. this figure has never exceeded 4% says. the percentage of alleged sexual assault offenders receiving some kind of disciplinary action has been growing each year. we believe this reflects an investment in the training of our investigators and prosecutors.

this chart that's the question, when commanders have legal authority over the offender insufficient evidence of a sexual assault with formal disciplinary action did it take? there has been sufficient evidence to the for court-martial charges and 71 percent of reduced service members. that has not always been the case. the system of military justice we haven't pledged today is significantly different from the one that existed as recently as two years ago. is it also demonstrates that more and more victims are getting an opportunity to be heard in the military justice system. as i mentioned, we take our assistance to victims to a new level with the special victims council program. as confidential support helps keeps victims were to spitting in the military justice system for as long as their desire. the bottom line, commanders are

checking allegations of sexual assault very seriously and holding offenders appropriately accountable. the secretary just said, the best way to combat sexual assault is to prevented which is why he directed the implementation of an updated sexual prevention strategy designed to institutionalize a comprehensive approach across the department. using this strategy will intensify our efforts in every level of military society to prevent this crime. by establishing their right command climate, ensuring support and in powering service members to safely intervene the department of defense will be the last place our military offender wants to be. the strategy was developed collaboratively with the military service and civilian experts such as the centers for disease control and prevention, the fbi and colleges and universities with innovative programs and research.

in order for prevention to work as reflected steps must be taken at every level from individuals to leaders. at the core of this effort we police commanders. it is commanders a set the tone in their units and will be the means by which we foster climates of dignity and respect. in addition to the prevention strategy the secretary resurrected the implementation of several measures to enhance our program which are reflected. i would like to amplify each of the bullets. on the first directed against inappropriate culture, our leaders must brought out their relationships, encourage active bystander intervention and social courage and demonstrate daily our core values support mutual respect. second, we are evaluating commander training. we will be reviewing implementation of the newly developed core competencies and learning objectives for pre command and senior enlisted

trading to insure that they understand the nature of the current and know how to engage our response system to support effectiveness. third, we are reviewing a crawl policies, asking a service to insure their alcohol policies encourage responsible sales practice, training and providers to win the support of the communities around our explorations to reduce the risk posed and improve safety to service members. fourth, we are taking steps to improve reporting for male victims. to promote recovery among male victims who report this crime and a much lower rate than female victims, we are asking and services to enhance their efforts to encourage male victims to report and secure. fifth, in order for everyone to have the latest information and make promising practices common practices we are creating an on-line forum to share research

and innovations and prevention. finally, we want to hear how we are giving from those who use our services. so do so, the department of defense and the services are collaborative the field in a survey for victims of this crime in summary, we are encouraged by the increase in reports made by victims of this crown could be given historical data we believe the increase in reporting reflexed senior leader focus and improved faq and confidence, not an increase in crime. we continue to work in response. we understand and ignores the problem, provide professional advocacy to victim's aunt and power than to report to robert vernon avenue for confidential reporting, conduct independent investigations and as we reflect in this year's report calling measure our effectiveness and report progress publicly in

transparently. we will continue to do so. we will always around and behind these numbers there are real soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines who have been victimized by this terrible crime. to those that are working so hard to create an environment in our forces that is based on our values, that all archers to high standards and reject sexist behavior is, sexual harassment and crude or offensive behavior, thank you. you are the standard bearers, and your efforts are making a difference. but we can and must do more. help create the climate where our people do not with the of the way when standards are breached and lead characters in a way that inspires them to step up and act. i would like to close with two

messages, one to victims of this crime and the other to the offender's. first from the victim's, for those of you that have been a victim of this crime, one each in of a real working very hard to establish a climate where is salts to not happen. if you have been a victim, police, police reached out to your local victim advocate, health care professional, the department of defense if applied we want you to get the support you need. you will be treated with the privacy you desire, the sensitivity you deserve, and a seriousness that this current demands. to the offender's committing this crime, we don't care who you are or what ridiculed. if you don't understand our core values and are not prepared to live by enforce those values every game and we don't want you in our realtor.

the be say it one more time. we expect every service member to live by the values and standards we set. if you are not prepared to accept this responsibility then you should leave. thank you for your attention. the primary author of this report will not join me and we have reached a questions fists. >> you may depart the you don't believe that this large increase in the number of cars reported reflects an increase in actual crimes committed. out you know that? >> here is why i say that. number one, we do a survey of three to years. you are correct in that there is no service for this year, we have done so since it does in sex. the prevalence rate has been remarkably consistent. so women have reported between four and 7%.

in the case of men in his one to 2 percent. and this or i don't believe the fact that the increase and report constitutes an increase in crime -- >> for the sake of argument was look to the time when the government had high recurrence rate. indicating experience of on one of sexual contact in the year prior to being surveyed. that year we only received reports from a short of 2,300 military members. this year even given that prevalence rate we had an increase in reporting. >> next question : please. >> i apologize if this is in the report. it is a bit of a delicate question. i am interested in the directive having to do -- that is focused on the male victim's. do you have any breakdown as to

the work, what share of these crimes are male-on-mail and what share for female-on male. >> absent. there are two sources for the stated in the department. if free look at our reports, the crimes that are reported, and only a very small percentage of the crimes of the department receives are male-on-mail. however, we get a better picture of the types of crimes that are actually experience from milliken survey data. passed data shown because if you think about our problem lies in a spurt, the tip of the as burgers the reports have received every year. the remainder is the survey data so just looking at the tip of the iceberg we don't necessarily know what the whole nature of the problem could possibly be. we look in our survey data we see a bit different picture.

as matter-of-fact in a torrent of -- 2010 survey worry where will the have the submission and have very good response rates will we found is that 35 percent of men indicated their offender was when the man. 40 percent indicated that the offender was a lot, and the remainder indicated that there a fender or men and women act together. so. >> next question please. >> 492 reports occurred prior to military service. 4679. actually occurred within the calendar year 2013? also prior to the year. how many reports did you have in

2013? >> the reports that we have that we received this year, only 14 percent occurred a year prior to the incident. so the vast majority of the cases that were reported this year occurred within this calendar year or prior. >> the secretary and his comment , that was prior to military service to you have any numbers on the convictions? >> you want to talk to them.

>> the court-martials the proceeded to accord this year 76 percent of offenders were convicted on at least one charge resulting town of that court martial. that charge could have been for a penetrating offense, not been treating infants or for some other misconduct charge that was not sexual assault related. >> absolutely. >> i believe that reflects the department's seriousness in looking at this crime. what we're finding is that because of the under reporter reporting related to this crime, commanders rarely see this crime card in the field. prior to the sexual assault response program few of the need a counter intuitive nature of

this criminal offenders worked. also criminal investigators and our attorneys that work these crimes. there are no longer buying and soon the prominence in society says. >> the 76% of defenders, and anything related to this incident. >> some percentage or for of the misconduct. >> and that is brokered. >> a lot of these under restricted reports. can you give us a better sense

wrong numbers in cases that actually go to court martial. really what numbers ballpark would you know an offender's name is reported to his military and does not result in any discipline? >> i just want to do the first part of that. we do know on that number report , the breakdown of about 75 percent is an unreported. that prompts an investigation that 25 percent is restricted. a lot of them get the care but there is no investigation. >> where you have enough evidence to move forward. these are really difficult cases to investigate and prosecute. the end of the perpetrator was military. >> we have that. one on the side. it is detailed. the answer is that military

commanders looked at 2,149 military offenders this year. >> out of that 1,569 or 73 percent received some kind of disciplinary action. >> sexual assault suspects. you are not looking in nebraska. >> people that were alleged to have perpetrated 50% increase in

reports altogether. was there -- and whether they were convicted or not, was there a similar increase in the number of cases that went to court martial? 50% increase. 50 percent more court martial. >> i don't know what the breakdown is, but they're is a corresponding increase. keep in mind that our data reflects a bit of the time shift . when a report is made it is referred to a military criminal investigative organization for an independent investigation. that takes time. there's a bit of a time lag between out reports that we receive and the action is taken because we have to gather evidence, interview witnesses, victims, and process the

evidence in the crime lab. yes, this year about 2149 people that we reviewed this year, that compares to 1,007 honored and 14 people, subject of a look at last year for disciplinary action. yes, that is increased by a percent. what i will tell you is it is not 50. again, keep in mind their is a light. we will be looking for a similar and the great number next year. >> service numbers that were identified as under legal jurisdiction, and you carry that through. a number of people convicted of court-martial was 370. a number were convicted of sexual offender qualifying crime

, something like 197. i guess this is for you. are you surprised to pass satisfied with those numbers as a proportion of the investigations that the system is allowed to get into? to you feel like setting aside the number of victims to lie to you feel like the cases that i carried through to the conclusion callahan is that working? >> i think we have taken steps to address different aspects of the program. one of the things we talked about is the training we income for investigators to get them more sensitive to the individuals actually conducting this investigation training for the prosecution. each one of these crimes is very unique and is tried based on the merits of that case.

and so i mean i don't know that it is not a question of whether i'm satisfied and not. what i would say is the victims are getting their day in court, and the results are the results. we are doing the right things on the front end to get the victims of support they need so they can make an informed decision. these things play out in court. >> our justice system as a very high bar. it is beyond a reasonable doubt. in order for attorneys to take in case the court they have to have a strong belief that a crime is being committed. because our job -- justice system and some of these cases play out. bested in making sure that justice is balanced.

>> can you talk about the decision beyond standardize innocence of the provision screening as you know the army disqualified soldiers meant it will be expanding the criteria is. you expect that more troops will be disqualified? >> the possibility exists. what i would share, and i can share the actual director that came out on this, we did this for victim advocates. will we learn is each of them did it. it is accomplished with the secretary asked them to do, but in the process of doing so that our best practices and prompted a conversation which i think is good. one of the programs back this,

you have the secretary saying we will all those programs accountable. we come back and talk about it, all the identified is which one went private differently than his season. the secretary to call that and in the five positions and actually go out and do further research which is what the director says and then come back and determine how we're going to standardize and what are the actual screening criteria associated with that if that answers your question. >> they're is a particular position, recruiter that the other services were not looking at? >> you know, would actually ask you to defer to the army to incidents this of the questions.

there was a break out. they expanded it to recruiters and trainers. that possibility does not exist, but i will leave it to the army to walk you through their numbers. i'm not calling to say you. >> what can you tell us about the accused or offenders? do you have any data and they are generally? xbox aren't a high-ranking? being accused, lower? >> it's very consistent. the vast majority of our finishers summer between the rank of the one and e9.

i would tell you the when we captured things by rank it is not quite as precise. we take a look at our age is the vast majority of our vendors and between the ages of 18 and 35. >> not the whole military, the lower age ranges in the department. clearly this is consistent with will we see in the civilian community. victims tend to be 1-you for. offenders tend to be a little bit older and hiring. most of them are pure or near pier crimes. these are people that work with each other every day, the numbers that we see them or announced by the white house this last week were very similar to what we see in the military. 90 percent of the offender's

work with the victim on the military. these are not strangers with people and an. >> cnn. i was curious if you could expand a little more. the environment where victims feel more comfortable hoax going forward? >> until you, this is clearer direction from the secretary. two things. i contributed. by that we are talking about altman is something that has to get all the way down. it starts at the top. as senior leader emphasis and focus and then getting an and driving and, that's one thing. the second thing is the of the

number of things to enhance victim confidence whether it is -- literally i could get with your phone interview on london's . the combination of those two things, the senior leader focus and a number of things that enhance victim confidence we think are responsible. >> i would agree with that. i have been since 2007 in one form or another, the first military deputy of the director of the office. what i would offer to you is what has changed and horizon is missing a new focus. we talked to everyone in the department on this issue. the secretary of defense, the acting deputy secretary and other joint chiefs of staff. people i've heard their message.

>> try and get them and circulate to spend time with each of the services. and have grown up in predominately the army but it has given me an opportunity to go out and spend time with the services. as the level of dialogue in conversation about this particular crime that quite frankly i did not see as recent as when i was last in command. and so the and marvin is changed. leaders are working hard. it is attributed to the effort. some of this is not intuitive. each of the services have gone after this to make sure their leaders are trained. it's a combination of those but it is not by accident.

>> her response to the report is similar to the indians' response xbox she is also claiming that even though congress has not passed a law, the senate has passed its. the pentium is already implementing the provisions or some of the provisions. is that true? in the talk about where you work with our efforts have? >> we really admire the passion and the partnership we have had with congress on this particular issue. as to the specific pending legislation, we're not going to talk about the pending installation. >> i would not say consulted, one of the things that we did you do and work very hard to do is make sure that they are informed and understand.

my debut as over on the hill talking to the end of this report. not so much consulting but in terms of course mobs. i do think this partnership is very, very powerful. there are a number of things that have started as initiatives to draw some aspect of our program. many innocent in, find. >> oem responsibility to inform not specific to senator mechanical. i suspect and she was not their herself with a number of routine

ones. >> regarding the care of all policy, can you talk about specifics that you are considering taking to restrict servers number access to alcohol , crackdown on of all-related offenses like intoxication, in turn driving? and also would it be possible to give a breakdown of the accused perpetrators in terms of the percentage of officers forces in listed and the you know that of the top. >> ins. when i will tell you, i will refer you for the actual percentages for the report in this section of the demographics that will give you a drove them of is and what the percentages are. the vast majority of our accused offenders are interested. less than a quarter, believe,

officers to be pleased up to the board and get the actual data. one of the things that --. what you suggested are been the traditional ways of trying to approach this problem and look at the problems associated with individual use. the october prevention team and i spent a lot of time with the centers for disease control and prevention and asking them what can we do different? then referred to as for two very promising practices. you can search these yourself and look at them and see what you think. the bottom line is in the state of california that have what is called irresponsible levers service, training providers to understand how people consume alcohol, what its effects on the body and out and maybe serve people in a way that diminishes the impact of the effect on the body so that they don't get

intoxicated as quickly. for example, whenever someone serves a drink they also provide a menu so maybe something to slow the adoption. as i just examples. do you really need is still some 15 fifths of bread to:00 in the morning? permanent. the communities they use these approaches with the some of the outcome data that was shared and have seen some -- decrease in violent crime associated with these policies. economic they sell. people consume up, more safe and make the risk of sexual assault and other violent crime less likely. >> one other comment. as to the actual directive, i

will share the directive with you. but each of these, there is an offensive seceded. the specificity of their visions , they are committed to working and is. >> the 76% who were convicted of at least one charge, do you have any numbers of how many did jail time? >> yes, as a matter of fact. if you give me two seconds. >> if i could make this point. it is difficult. if i can show you the volume of this report. part of our effort is transparency. i would encourage you to spend some time. some of those questions and the breakdown of others, we consciously did not want to take you down and.

anchorage you didn't. >> 76% of subjects and. i would also offer to you that it depends on the crime that is prosecuted. for the more serious crime we saw the vast majority of getting jail time as high as 94%. the average over all the different kinds of problems orders it down a little bit when you look at the actual crimes that are the most serious.n mor.

the presiding officer: without objection. mr. mccain: mr. president, 19 months ago, a terrible thing months ago, a terrible thing >> mr. president 19 nuncio a terrible thing happened in benghazi, libya. for brave americans were murdered, and the issue has never been not only resolved but as each of the last 19 months

insuring the issue of how and under what circumstances this heinous crime was committed continues. the senator from south carolina and i and others that will never give up on this issue in tell the truth is known in the people who perpetrated it are brought to justice. we have seen in the page turner in this chapter of cover and confiscation by this administration by the belated 19 months with a police of the following humans. first we will not pay much attention. this is from the benjamin roads to is supposed to be the public relations and public affairs office for the national security council. back, obviously the propaganda organ. the purpose is to underscore the

these protests are rooted in an engine and video and not abroad or failure policy. i tell my colleagues that that was not a fact, that was not a fact. there was no evidence that these protests were rooted in an inch and a video. in fact, the station chief before these talking points were made up sent a message, this is not a spontaneous demonstration. to sure that we will be resolute in bringing people steadfast these protests to reinforce the president's strength and steadiness. it's all about the presidential campaign, not trying to find out who perpetrated this crime, not about trying to respond to the people who committed these acts. in fact because of the cover-up and a.m. the station and an 19 month delay not a single person who was responsible for the

murder of these four brave americans has been brought to justice has the president promised that it would. serious survey mr. kearney says, well, it was -- that this was not -- these information releases had nothing to do with the attack. my friends, i have seen a lot of strange things in my time, but that has to be the most bizarre statement that i and a. this is all about presidential campaign. this is all about an effort to convince the american people the president of has everything under control. next day after the sunday show susan rice said al qaeda has been decimated.

of course the whole issue of blaming an inch and a video lasted on and on for a couple of weeks when it was clear that the evidence that indicated. i yield to my friend from south carolina on this issue. >> the committee of jurisdiction subpoena the documents and basically was different. senator mccain, a at, and myself of written enough letters to destroy a small force in the white house with nothing to show for it virtually. there was a private organization

is it under the freedom of the inflammation and an independent judiciary so ordered this winehouse to disclose this e-mail just days ago. no one else provide it to the congress a few days to. what does that tell us? that tells us that they did not want you to know about this e-mail it be the talk about 25,000 documents they have provided the needed is not meant and the number of documents provided. you could provide of the big guns the phone book. it is the relevance of the documents and the significance and the reason they did not want you, me, and anyone else to know about this in no because it is the smoking gun that shows that people at the white house level of people that work for the white house or the administration or very intent on

shaping the story about benghazi away from what they knew to be the true. seven weeks before an election president, has said repeatedly says al qaeda is on no one, no war is receding. foreign policy is working. many of us were critical, particularly in. senator mccain, myself, and a couple of other senators went in 2011 to libya and said in an op-ed piece if we don't get rid of these militias with he is going to become a safe haven for terrorists. you have to understand this about the benghazi conflict command had been previously attacked in april of 2012. the british ambassador had been attacked in june of 2012. the british closed their

consulate. the red cross closed their office that they had been attacked. we get e-mail traffic coming from libya to washington at the state department level saying in august 16th we cannot secure the benghazi consulate from a cord in a terrorist attack command al qaeda flags are flying all over again. what they did not want you to know is that the conflict in benghazi was very unsecured. everyone else had left the town, and the numerous requests for security enhancements going back for months had been denied. they did not want you to know that because it would make the american people that the facility was so and secured and such a dangerous area and people in washington constantly ignored requests for additional security to make here is what they wanted you to know, convey the united states history everything they can to protect our people and

facilities abroad. that to me was the worst of the whole e-mail because they are trying to convey to the american people that these things happen but we did all we could to protect your family and as to serve this nation. the thing could be more truthful about benghazi and the statement that they did everything they could to secure the facility. a question as to whether or not this e-mail relates to benghazi was the most offensive thing coming out of the white house in what a while. no one knows died. it was an attack on our embassy in cairo with property damage. what do you think susan rice is going to be asked about on sunday? everybody in the nation wanted to know how our ambassador and three of the brave americans died to suggest that they were not trying to prepare talk about the death of an american -- for

americans is just insulting to our intelligence. the document itself tells you it was directed toward explaining benghazi, to show that we will be resolute in bringing people who harm americans to justice. that was part of what they wanted her to convey. no one else was hurt. so within the documents of the talking about reinforcing the view that we will go after those who aren't americans. the only people were harmed or four people killed in benghazi. that is just a bald faced lie, insulting our intelligence, and it really is disrespectful to those who died in the line of duty to suggest that e-mail it would not give us without a court order nothing to do with the death of four americans. anything to do. all of the mills were supposed

to begin the congress as return for the confirmation of mr. brennan's head of the cia. the bottom line is the goals set out in this e-mail hard to try to convince the american people seven weeks before an election we had done everything possible to protect her people and facilities, to underscore that the purchase were rooted in the internet video and not broader policy. and here to tell you and i dare anybody to show where abroad. there is no evidence of protest outside the compound often lead to an eventual attack. i have talked to them and in charge of security the ambassador went to bed down was nobody outside the compound that would not have let him go to bed they had been protesters and

reporters up to the chain of command. the next day the station chief said to misses. >> i was the 15th. this is in real time people reporting a coordinated terrorist attack. there was no protest fast. the video had nothing to do with this because there was no protest. why would they suggest that? there are far less culpable in the eyes of the american people and myself if, in fact, this was caused a of video or protest. the truth of the matter is this was a coordinated terrorist attack that you could see coming for months, and it was the result of a broader failure of policy. what did they not want to admit that? their seven weeks out. in the cuts everything they're trying to tell the american people.

this is a smoking gun that shows there were consciously trying to manipulate the evidence to steer the story away from the coordinated terrorist attack of an unsecured facility. that, to me, is unacceptable and clear the sun rises and the east for those who care. but hamilton's back over to senator mccain. >> president obama after this attacks of the fallen. everything that every piece of an, as we got it, we laid out for the american people. i am here to tell you that that statement has not borne scrutiny , that this administration did not live up. here is another.

from jay carney. i can tell if you that the president the to that and as a rice is an excellent job as u.s. ambassador to the united nations i believe that and i know that everyone here working for and has been transparent in the way that we have turned into questions about what happened in bindles in. if you were trying to be transparent about what's happening in man comes in, why would you feel to provide the relevant information to make the information that we provided was based on available assessment at the time. and here to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, i am not provided the relevant information. why? because the relevant information crumbles the story commute it crumbles the story of the president himself when weeks later he talked about a protest cost my video that the rapid.

the reason they have not shared this with us is that expose the lion of benghazi, and i will end with this thought. you would not know today about an e-mail and 14 september setting goals for susan ives to meet on 16 september to change own narrative if it were not for independent judiciary and a private organization. mostly the media, it will, but the reason we have stopped is because wing at the family's. to any member of the congress that thinks benghazi is a republican conspiracy designed to help lindsay gramm or anyone else collected, why don't you go to the family members and explain to them what happened.

what did you tell the family members that your government, the government was upfront and honest and see if they will believe you. this e-mail that came from a court requiring the white house to disclose the is devastating. it's devastating because it shows that three days after the attack their goal was not to inform the american people of what happened but to shake the story out the president get reelected. and i hope and pray that matters to the american people, and i believe it doesn't ( and our friends on the democratic side will start taking a little bit of interest. i can tell you this, when president bush's policies were crumbling we did not have enough troops, and john mccain, to his credit, said that publicly and asked for the resignation of

president bush's secretary of defense because of failed policy we discovered the abuses at guantanamo bay and of low grade, the believe this was just a few bad apples. i have been a military lawyer for 31 years. it means a lot to me to it here to the conventions we signed up to. if there is ever an american ear and the senate, senator mccain has lived for a country that is practiced torture. when we did those things we were great americans holding the system accountable and doing the country a service. now all of a sudden we are just party. what drove us that drives us now . when you ask people to serve in faraway places with strange sounding names and to go out on the tip of the spear you 08 to

do what you can, give them the best ability to survive, and if something bad happens zero there families the true it tried to shape the story in a fashion that it not bears scrutiny. it was not a few dead. it was system failure that led to the collapse. thank god we changed tactics and overcame problems. this benghazi story is about a foreign policy choice call the light footprint that caught up with the sub ministration. the demonstration that said no to additional security requests. it did not want to be like bush. there was a story about an administration too stubborn to react to attacks on the ground that can't the consulate open whenever one of close to tears,

unsecured, believing that ignoring the problem would solve the problem. we have now found evidence of their willingness, desire, to change some narrative from a coordinated terrorist attack and an unsecured facility is something they really could not control and did the best that could seven weeks before an election. all i can say is that the issue and the of different sight in this have been the bush administration it would be front-page news everywhere. our colleagues and the other side would be of screaming, and it is said to me that it has not been news everywhere, and it is sent to me than my democratic colleagues in the house in particular have disdain for trying to find out what happened in benghazi.

>> and the fact is, i would say to my friend, the time has now come for a select committee. the time has now come because these talking points raised more questions than answers. it is time for a bipartisan, bicameral, select committee to investigate the entire benghazi fiasco and tragedy, and it needs to be done soon. the american people and the families of those brave ones who sacrificed their lives deserve nothing less. a friend, lindsay gramm, just mentioned -- senator gramm just mentioned about the media. i would like to say, thanks. i would like to say thanks to fox news. i would like to say thanks to some and cbs. would like to think charles crowd hammer and anvil of people who kept this alive when the mainstream media finally wanted to bury it but subjected as

senator gramm just mentioned, he and i to vertical. i want to go back for a second to this e-mail. in response to questions yesterday by the white house press spokesperson, if you look at this e-mail and then look at what he said, it is an absolute falsehood, a total departure from reality. and as the president's spokesperson tell the american people something that is patently false? if the president's spokesperson in rigors of this analysis is that to show the internet and this purchase retrenchment video, not a broader full-year policy, was he talking about? he saying the e-mail is explicitly not about benghazi. well, then what was it about? .. were protests in the region. the talking points cited

protests at that facility. they didn't. talking points did not cite protests at that facility; e.i., been gaz each. the connections between protests and video and the video turned out not to be the case. it turned out not to be the case because it was never the case and no one ever believed it. tut was aboubut it was based on the best information that they had. he had no information that there was no demonstration sparked by a video. that was manufactured somewhere. and we -- the american people and we need to know where those talking points that susan rice gave. if you look at that document, he goes on to say, that document that we're talking about today was about the overall environment in the muslim world. how cou could he say that and look at that email here, talking about events in the muslim world? he goes on to say talking about susan rice, she relied on her for her answers on benghazi on

the document prepared by the c.i.a. as did members of congress. mr. morell has stated the deputy head of the c.i.a. at that time, that he was astonished to hear that there was reference made on all five sunday morning shows that there was a hateful video involved. so mr. carney is -- he is saying things that are absolutely false. the american people deserve better than that from the president's spokesperson whom he should they rely on for accurate information. when the bodies came home and it was a moving event, i was there, the -- then-secretary of state told members of the family and have told me that she said we will get these people who were responsible for the hateful video. that was a number of days later when it was absolutely proven to

anyone's satisfaction there was no hateful video. and, of course, we still don't know what the final version of the talking points that susan rice used on all morning talk shows, who was the final arbiter of it. we know now that mr. rhodes played a very key role in that. and we need to know who gave her those talking points because those talking points because >> is someone gave her those talking points and then why in the world today manufacturer information that we are told to the american people? mr. president there is a lot of points here to get into the details but the fact is this is a cover-up of the

situation which was politically but evaded to further ambitions of the president of the united states. that is what this is all about. this is like comments and instructions were given. the narrative was with secretary rice that al qaeda is decimatedñi the most important of those five americans that were killed. it is clear that should not have have been there would not have happened of properas b actions would have beeniíep

takenxdñiçw%ñrçó orñi for the l9 months the white house is engaged in a cover-up c cover-up is committee to examine all the facts a and as alwayse a happens with the scandals the cover-up is sometimescan worse than the actual action itself. the american people deserve to know the truth. i yield the floor. >> you know, these women and it was stratified with the very rich, the middle-class and the achievers it was after the civil war of the parents out

there to make a lot of money and it is easy for them because they have beençó runningw3ñiñiñyrxdçóçóñiñvó arog boys. the we are beautiful and tough and driven for power and individuals they could having capt. the fine manner with their independence and women's independence. unlike anybody else on the scene. he

senator from arkansas. mr. pryor: thank you, madam president. president. >> i come to day with a salt and a story. this all this one of the mostot famous passages in all of scripture. in times like this that arkansas has gone through people good to ecclesiastes or job but i will tell you why i wanted to read this that the lord is my shepherd i shall not want. he makes rely down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters and restores my. soul. dea he leaves me in path of righteousness for his namesake. even though i walk to the valley of the shadow of

death i will fear no evil. for you are with me. your bodyman staff comfortrely me. my cup overflows. surely goodness and mercy f shall follow me all the days of my life i shall dwell ofr the house of the war forever. and on sunday september 27 at 7 '06 p.m., and a tornado touched down right on the county line just west of rock for a state o rf the ground for about one hour and crossed over a town called the mayflower. now the weather service tells us it was ef4 with

withm speed of 190 miles per hour. we lost 15 people we will miss them and it is a great loss to each and every american madam president you can see and hear from those names a lot of these were free of the members or members of a few content

alone dash communities of want to thank my colleagues becausein many called and reach out to. some covered meetings for me and senator reid covered a military promotion ceremony that m was special for me andeo for him to do.pl and many of my colleagues have offered to help in those who have reached out as the governor has fielded calls from other governors around the country and our emergency management people have been reached out by a others and another phenomenon has happened iner our state we webers severaln states to have gone through this before like missouri i see my colleague in the nee chamber today and they came to help from oklahoma, of course, we have helped those states and it was so mea

reassuring and appreciated they wouldre come:the previous victims with:behalf -- would come to help us. also officials reached out. a i was in the car with our governor when the president called and they could work through the federal state issues immediately on the phone. secretary johnson called the governor and i talked to him that same day. excuse me he is trying to come in and craig few gates the director of fema with the resources it brings one of the things we recognize is the work is just beginning. i see my colleague from louisiana does anybody understand better about t recovering promote widespread disaster but also

i just want a to think the thousands and thousands of arkansan who made a difference. one of the underappreciateder groups that don't get enough notoriety were the tvwa weather people as soon as the storms were in the area they gave wall-to-walle coverage to so many in mayflower in those areas they said we watched on tv because we knew it was coming. r i was at a dinner with friends of mine we heard the e sirens and a the weather radio and we watched it like everyone else a man named maxwell has experience but a system we call code read that was activated in to it worked very well but also we

had first responders rolling in immediately and they activated thhee guardsmen is this so reassuring to use the communities to know they have a lot of training and experience the other thing i notice when i pull up their there were police cars and fire trucks from everyg jurisdiction in arkansas is seemed like. one of the real unsung heroes is everyday citizens, a arkansan. they brought their chainsaws santa kids out of school and rolled out to help bin some of the state agencies that

are not mentioned in like the forestry commission to clear the way, highway department, we had about 35,000 customers without power. got in with the electric utility in the state isn't i did notice a state baptist convention had a mobile mass feeding units in the first three days they fed 4300 hot meals alone. i don't know about the of the places but and then the

families there. all of them rollout in days have been f through the tragedies before the wireless f companies came in w wal-mart one of the largest company based in arkansas k with truckloads of water, diapers, snacks from the various donations would never people of the did when there were there with theof trucks to offload to help a people also tyson foods is another company.ruck they have a program that

calls meals that matter iting and they do three meals a day. i saw the trucks at the school. they said that truck is just full of lies for ago they weren't through the tragedy is that racism sure supply. we could talk a wrote this for a long time to see these people it was very emotional. in the one man lost his mother but at then. same time others are rejoicing to be safe and have their lives.

it and never got his name but i think he was stationed at little rock air force base, he said he a looked out his front door he grabbed his kids put them in the bathtub and covered them up and for about 45 seconds and sounded like an f-16 in the house. when it stopped he took off l the blankets and they were not in the bathroom in the war but to inductor ride to and it had collapsed but then the neighbors heard them and then they could dig a tunnel to get the girls out. two just with scratches but it is an amazing story of perseverance. today's after the storm

there is a hardware storentir that building was shaken to the federation but the career in the building and as they were getting merchandise out to get into storage so it could be safe while theyh iv?v0é .çñ rubble, t when you look at that, all you see is just debris. your eye can't even focus on it. you don't know what you are looking at. then when you actually sit there and take a moment and look, i looked down there and i saw oh, well, there is a ceiling fan motor. the blades were all gone but there is a ceiling fan motor. right there, gosh, i see legos mixed in the yard. oh, there is an upside-down sink. right here on the pavement, it's a family portrait, whether it's

this family or that family or a family from a mile away, who knows, but nonetheless, a family portrait, just a color photo laying there in the middle of the street. i know that one of the things i saw, madam president, as i stood there and i saw what used to be a house and there was the front door and the door frame and it was brick and sort of the stoop and the steps going up to the house, but there was no house there. all that was left was the door frame. you think about that, you think about those people and their house is completely gone and they have to rebuild. i did hear a story. i didn't talk with the people, but a story was going around with some of the volunteers who were out there working about a -- a family that survived and their dog survived, and the way the dog survived is as the storm -- the tornado was hitting their home, they actually grabbed the dog by the collar. he was trying to fly out the window or what was left of the house, and they held onto --

they were holding onto for dear life and they held onto the dog for his dear life and they made it. a lot of times you go up to a house where a house was, and it's just a concrete slab, that's all there was. you just look at that and you go how did anybody survive that, but they did in most cases. and i went to a friend of mine's farm, a guy named preston scroggins who i have known for a long time. he is a really good guy, pillar of the community kind of person up there. i went to his home and i saw that -- that he lost everything. he lost his home, lost all of his vehicles. he had a big farm shop, what we call a shop which is a metal building. has, you know, steel girders in it. and i've never seen this before with a tornado, but when they built that -- that metal building, of course they built these girders to hold it up and then the -- sort of the siding type stuff on the side and the roofing, all metal, but -- and

of course the steel was twisted, and that's pretty bad. that takes a lot of force just to twist that steel like that, but what i had never seen before is the footings of the building were these huge concrete balls where they dug a hole, filled it with concrete and stuck the steel girders in there to caused footings. this tornado actually picked up those balls out of the earth. they were actually picked up and setting down a few feet away from the big hole in the ground. that's an amazing amount of force. that's what an f-4 does. and it didn't just knock down buildings. it obliterated them. and the beautiful thing about our state is that it did not obliterate people's dreams. we talked to one woman and she said well, this was my dream house, but the amazing thing was was -- is that a new phrase has been created out of this. we heard people saying it over

and over. they called it arkan-strong, because people in our state, they are resilient, they are strong people, they are scrappers. part of being strong is to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and dusting yourself off and go out and do more that day and improve what you have got and work for your family. but also one element of being strong is about neighbor helping neighbor. we saw that in abop dance therew that in abundance there in arc ancht to be able to sit there in your front yard and you have no worldly possessions left. it looks like your pickup truck has been beat with 20 men coming out there with hammers and beating on it. for you to sit there and your house is in ruins and there's nothing left and for you to look at me and say, "well, it's just stuff," that takes a strong person to say that. that's someone who has the right perspective. you see the bravery, the

selflessness, the general ross tirks and you -- the generosity, and you know why these amazing people i help, you know why i'm so very, very proud to be their senator. i am also proud of the senate because it wasn't too long ago would we voted for -- that we voted for disaster relief. we now have money sufficient to cover this and other disasters. i wish i could say this was going to be the last one for the year. but everybody knows as well as i do that this won't be the last one for the year. but let me close for that song. "lord of my shepherd, i shall not want. he makes me lie down in green pastures." our people have found those. they will continue to be finding those as we go through this. "he leads me beside still waters." that's a very comforting thing and they need to be comforted right now. "he restores my soul." one thing liked up is the

definition of "soul" according to webster's is "the engine physical aspect of a person." it is a person's emotional and moral nature. where the most private thoughts and feelings are hidden. the complex of human atricts that manifest as consciousness, thought, feeling and will. anyway, he restores my soul. "he leads me in paths of righteousness for his names sake, even though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death." those people in arkansas nona they have faw walked through the shadow of the valley of death. "your rod and your staff, they comfort me. you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies and anoint my head with oil. my cup overflows." and i'll tell you, the attitude

of the people of citizen of my r cup is overflowing. those blessings continue to come. "surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and i shall dwell in the house of the lord forever." having that perspective is going to get a lot of these people through that. i want to thank and thank all my colleagues for all the best wishes and all the willingness to help and the offers of assistance and all the things that make up the senate family, and with that, i know i have a couple of colleagues that are waiting to speak. waiting to speak.

hard rock hd, like us on facebook, follows on twitter.

>> recent violence and ethnic cleansing has claimed thousands of lives in the central african republic. one of the world's poorest countries. a u.n. peacekeeping mission is not expected to arrive until september. the house foreign affairs committee held hearings on the crisis with the witnesses from the state department anrtment ad non-governmental organizations working in the region. this is two hours and 45 minutes. respect think you for being here. good t morning we addressed the extremely critical topic of the african republic balance and action is mirroring every day this is not the first hearing we have had on the african republic of follows a hearing from last november and many of usñi like the distinguished witnesses have

been an ongoing meetings with bishops and humanitarian ince and diplomatsñjr and interested parties.ñiñi the acting secretary who will testify today says in a pre-genocide stage since that time the situation appears to have gotten worse we are here again today not only from the situation on the ground but a change in policy that is a course of action that we had recommended that the administration undertake last november that they be introduced into the country as the existing african force. hopefully such an intervention boyle -- will not come too late because we are witnessing a country in rapid disintegration of

sending from a pre-genocides state characterized one too painful to articulate genocide. after being characterized we see for the first time sectarian division. over land use for grazing has always existed given way to religious and ethnic affiliation. this happens at a time when we mark the 20th anniversary of the genocide in rwanda. when that country was turned into a massive killing field the world stood by with clinton in the peacekeeping chief had actionable intelligence information that could have mitigated the genocide. also holding a series of meetings or hearings we

heard from people who said we had the information on hand. he was there wanted to take effective action that was of course, of 1 million people who were slaughtered in and with that information it could have been prevented or largely mitigated. the and the overall book to the corpses piled high and was shocked. ladies and gentlemen, it is happening again as our witnesses know and bear witness to the question is if the phrase never again is one that we use a and whether or not we have two distinguished witnesses and also and richards assistant secretary for population refugee and migration.

while sending two people to justify is encouraging it shows the issue but the question i will ask them is whether redoing? but are we doing enough? in 2012 the administration created the atrocity provincial board following a study that said preventing mass atrocities is a core national security interest of the united states. to provide early warning do we take our eyes is off the ball because we are confronted by two mini crisis? with the humanitarian and peacekeeping a that we hear more from our witnesses

given the magnitude of the problem. we have a situation with roughly 5.2 million people those that are at risk of starvation well to .5 million are estimated of other needs of humanitarian assistance. nearly half the country. we see ethnic cleansing were whole villages emptied in the countryside laden waste. 600,000 displaced in the car and 320,000 others refugees in those countries. the situation has worsened the total number displaced we have held ourñi hearing last november at 460,000 with carr nationals displaced. figures for those that are killed are hard to come by we hope they can shed some

light on that. an estimated 200,000 have been killedñr since december alone but i believe that is a conservative estimate. what reports we do receiver bloodcurdling. watching the attack on the muslim neighborhood in the year of the morning hours a figure refers to -- february february 1st of bother encountered a family fleeing he saw his seven year-old boy shot in the lake and fall down he was then add men come down upon him with machetes and tell he was then then they came upon a group of muslims in hiding they separated the men from the women and small children and executed them then. 45 of them using machetes then shooting those who were

wounded. led by violence it is something that is a new phenomenon religious base. how did the country get tow3 this point? which started as a political coup d'etat it quickly took on religious and ethnic overtones. as detailed in march coming to power with the military base -- backing of 25,000 men 90,000 came from chad and sudan that constituted the foreign invasion force and they did not speak the local language and muslin in the nation that is 80 percent christian. they executed priest stirring up sectarian hatreds where none had previously existed.

but what we begin to see last november in response is the backlash with self-defense giving this. said sen retaliation forces have escalated and muslim civilians who had nothing to do with anything became targets. whole neighborhoods in the capital city and whole villages have been cleansed of the muslim population. there are numerous causes contributing including a fight to patrol conflict minerals. one mining area that supports their economic support as well. it is religious and dedication to provide the greatest hope and peace and reconciliation in the central african republic purpose of of the recall three great religious leaders came to washington

meeting with people wamble sides of the ideal and -- of the aisle and officials. they spoken and i met with them. absolutely impressed of their fervor to bring peace and reconciliation just like the christians and muslims are trying to do we met with the catholic archbishop as well as the imam with that into religious dialogue go

curring here at car. also another man of god if you attended the november hearing would remember well. two weeks ago was holy week hearing was visiting a parish with three of their priests. the car was stopped whose leader who had occupied the parishes and accuse the bishop to have plans to work with international peacekeepers and sentenced him and the priest to execution. the dead man removed his ring and across around hiôñv neck.zviñi you wouldw3 remember he wore the cross around his neck. there were placed in the

truck then driven north to the border of chad. on the way they were stopped this time commanded by another warlord who's a bishop and knew the he was a true humanitarian and man of peace and he provided over 35,000 displaced people in his parish parishioners or not. you ordered the bishops and the priest to be free and they were helicoptered back to his home parish in time for good friday. the story hit home with me and i'm sure others that know him that we have shared coffee and prayed with him than reheard him give powerful testimony and his clarion call was the international communityñr besides the humanitarian aid

but we need peace keepers who will stop the carnage and do it immediately. i am grateful he survives and he can continue to do his work but it underscores the perilous nature how everyone, muslim and christian are at risk. clergy, añi bishopñr, imam all at risk at the car and we need to double our efforts. i yield to my colleagues. >> chairman smith thank you for yourçóxd leadership and convening the hearing on the central african republic with the ongoing conflict could intensify to genocide. also our distinguished witnesses including ambassador jackson from the u.s. department of states as well as a range of experts

from advocacy organizations i've afford to hear your perspective on the ongoing crisis with theñ(s.zi car including an update on the humanitarian situation to redress the challenges including the of collaboration if they're not implemented with resources. in april have the honor to travel to rwanda and at car as a presidential delegation to attend the 20th anniversary of the rwanda genocide and while on the of car lake of the journey i witnessed the poverty and chaos and a lack of opportunities which in many ways gave rise to the current conflict. in addition to attending the

rwanda genocide memorial we went to the car it was the first time cabinet level official had never traveled to the nation. we met with a group of muslims and christians and it was tragic to hear their testimony and their stories. there was one woman who spoke with us talking about how she lost both children. her son left that afternoon to go to the market and never came home and her daughter was found murdered. she was muslim and is now afraid to leave her house.:p@@ mr. chairman you have many occasions as the committee talks about the persecution of christians now we have a christian led militia attacking the muslim population if it is reported over 90 percent has been driven out of the country

which is a situation be will have to look at how we bring them back. look at the president of the car even she talked about how her own security was not stable. because many here was the part of that delegation and your own situation was frightening but while much was made of the religious leaders the differences of ideology were not the origin which reflects complex tensions and issues of national identity. and when you have the hearing to talk about their religious leaders is an example of how we know that people with leadership want to resolve this issue ration in a peaceful way.

i hope we can learn critical lessons from the vast experience to increase support for the most effective measures to bring an end to to the conflict of the car. and i hope witnesses will provide guidance for us if there is anything else we can do in congress. i am committed to working with my colleagues in washington to find a peaceful resolution. >> that is eloquent misstated in to underscore what we have tried to do with this committee that i have chaired since 94 but let me just say in the sectarian violence should be filed against her struggle against or condemned. i have tried to a size i

held all during this. that was happening. muslims were targeted simply because they were muslims and try to make clear today the both sides of extremism that slaughter people because of their religious a ought to be condemned or held to account and i would say that yesterday the committee approved what i have been pushing since september with the war crimes tribunal to near the great work from david lorraine b. ad hoc tribunal but i will yield to my friend and colleague. >> i appreciate you holding the hearing. >> i will introduce the

distinguished witnesses for being here ambassador jackson. from the bureau of african affairs served as a previous ambassador and also affairs at the u.s. embassy in morocco and pentagon. from zimbabwe or portugal or canada and the oversight from 9/11 and it is the full testimony and a full press and they've made up part of the record as well as a and richards the assistant secretary of the state department population in refugee and migration bureau her previous government service includes the state department, the peace corps the omb also on foreign relations and was part of

fed team that pounded the international crisis group. and hopefully to be here as well. please begin. >> thank you very much chairman smith and other members of the subcommittee for this opportunity to testify again about the central african republic. since the last appeared we have grown more concerned with the religious violence that continues through the militias broke the car. the united states remains committed to working with the car transitional authority in the international community to end the violence with the transitional process leading to the establishment of the legitimate elected government of car. with that process to take political power from former car president to destroy the traditionally amicable

relationship between christians and muslims. fighters were living in mercenaries, bandits and criminals who sustain themselves by killing, kidnapping and pillaging the country which is 90% christian. . .e establishment of christian self-defense militias. this began to engage in revenge killing first against rebels, then against presumed supporters and then indiscriminately against muslim and their religious fights. the resignation occurred only after his rule had bankrupted the government and left a path of destruction and